Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s shares dropped another 28% Friday to below 43 cents, continuing a slide triggered by the news a day ago that the troubled retailer has pivoted to a last-ditch stock-sale effort, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The home-goods retailer needs the capital to avoid bankruptcy as it contends with steep sales declines. The tanking stock price could make it more difficult for the company to raise the amount of capital it needs to stay afloat. Bed Bath had been raising money through a complex equity arrangement with Hudson Bay Capital Management LP, from which it has raised about $360 million since February. But on Thursday, the company said it has terminated the deal and instead went with a new equity offering led by investment bank B. Riley Securities Inc. in an effort to raise up to $300 million by selling shares into the open market. Bed Bath & Beyond determined that it would be better off shifting to a deal in which it would have less constraints with stock-price and trading-volume thresholds, and could get more cash per share by issuing them at a smaller or no discount, people familiar with the matter said. The company then moved forward with the alternate equity financing led by investment bank B. Riley that will enable it to sell more shares sooner, they said. Bed Bath & Beyond said Thursday that it expects to file for bankruptcy if the new stock offering fails to come through. The company also disclosed an amendment to its credit agreement with its senior lenders Sixth Street Specialty Lending and JPMorgan Chase & Co., in which it must raise at least $140 million of proceeds by May 2.
